Earning a Higher Education after Years of Valor

November 10, 2011By Stephanie Thara

The California State University is an advocate of former and current service members striving to gain a higher education. The system has a myriad of programs and services that guide veterans toward gaining a degree and aid them in integrating back into civilian life.

According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, approximately 800,000 veterans used the GI Bill to continue their education in 2010 – a 42 percent increase over the previous year. Every CSU campus has knowledgeable Veterans' Affairs coordinators that assist veterans in determining which tuition assistance program best suits them.

The CSU supports educational benefits available to veterans, dependents and active duty servicemembers such as the following:

California Veterans Fee Waiver Program (Dependents of Veterans with a Service-Connected Disability)

The CSU is also a leader in implementing the statewide initiative Troops to College, which makes attaining college degrees for veterans and military families easier. Moreover, the CSU boasts programs catered toward veterans that supply certain industries with adept professionals, such as the Troops to Teachers Program and the CSU’s Veterans Initiative in its Professional Science Master’s (PSM) programs. The Troops to Teachers Program has helped about 11,000 military members transition to a career in public education in the last decade. Similarly, CSU’s Veteran’s Initiative in PSM programs builds upon the skills of military personnel and prepares them for employment in high demand science and technology positions in the civilian sector.

Additionally, the CSU instituted a statewide initiative where a total of 118 slots—five at each campus and eight at San Diego State—will be reserved for active duty or veteran service members. Each slot guarantees admission on the basis of each veteran's commanders’ recommendations.